La Grande

History

Originally named "Brownsville," it was forced to change its name because that name was being used for a city in Linn County. Located in the Grande Ronde Valley, the city's name comes from an early French settler, Charles Dause, who often used the phrase "La Grande" to describe the area's beauty. The population was 13,082 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Union County. La Grande lies east of the Blue Mountains and southeast of Pendleton. The Grande Ronde Valley had long been a waypoint along the Oregon Trail. The first permanent settler in the La Grande area was Benjamin Brown in 1861. Not long after, the Leasey family and about twenty others settled there. The settlement was originally named after Ben Brown as Brown's Fort, Brown's Town, or Brownsville. There was already a Brownsville in Linn County, so when the post office was established in 1863, a more distinctive name was needed. It was decided to use "La Grande", a phrase used by a Frenchman, Charles Dause, to describe the area's scenic splendor. La Grande grew rapidly during the late 1860s and early 1870s, partially because of the region's many gold mines and the valley's agricultural capabilities. The early business establishments centered on C Avenue between present day Fourth Street and the hillside on the west end. La Grande's Eastern Oregon University, formerly known as Eastern Oregon State College, began in 1929 as Eastern Oregon Normal School, a teachers college. La Grande had a factory for processing sugar beets into raw sugar. The sugar beets came from the nearby Mormon town of Nibley, Oregon, and both were owned by the Oregon Sugar Company. R. Doerstling, the superintendent of the factory in 1899, reported seeing a Native American teepee built out of used cloth filters from the factory.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which is land and is water. The town is a major hub in the valley. Mount Emily is a Grande Ronde Valley landmark towering over the city of La Grande to the north. It often features prominently on logos of local organizations and is matched on the other side of the valley by a similar landmark, Mount Harris. Under the Köppen climate classification system, La Grande features a warm-summer Mediterranean climate (Köppen Csb), closely bordering on a hot-summer Mediterranean climate (Köppen Csa). This climate type is characterized by warm, dry summers and cold winters.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  6,952
• Black-billed Magpie

  Pica hudsonia (Sabine, 1823) · Aves
  6,750
• European Starling

  Sturnus vulgaris Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  6,503
• Canada Goose (canadensis Group)

  Branta canadensis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  6,256
• Mallard

  Anas platyrhynchos Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  6,010
• Song Sparrow

  Melospiza melodia (A.Wilson, 1810) · Aves
  5,961
• House Finch

  Haemorhous mexicanus (P.L.Statius Müller, 1776) · Aves
  5,661
• Red-tailed Hawk

  Buteo jamaicensis (Gmelin, 1788) · Aves
  5,621

Largest nearby schools

• La Grande High School
  High · La Grande · 647 students · 20.9:1 ratio
• La Grande Middle School
  Middle · La Grande · 480 students · 17.8:1 ratio
• Central Elementary School
  Elementary · La Grande · 419 students · 16.8:1 ratio
• Island City Elementary School
  Elementary · Island City · 286 students · 15.1:1 ratio
• Greenwood Elementary School
  Elementary · La Grande · 256 students · 14.2:1 ratio
• RiverBend High School
  High · La Grande · 5 students

Most recent

• M 2.57 — 2025-02-10
  24 km ENE of Baker City, Oregon
• M 2.7 — 2024-07-20
  21 km NW of Halfway, Oregon
• M 2.73 — 2023-05-11
  6 km NNW of Summerville, Oregon
• M 3.0300000000000002 — 2023-03-08
  8 km WSW of Richland, Oregon
• M 2.67 — 2021-03-23
  12 km WSW of Lostine, Oregon
• M 2.5 — 2017-12-15
  14 km ENE of Halfway, Oregon